This puzzle:

Bruce Haight notes: First off, if you didn't see the 'grid art' in this puzzle, the picture below will give you a hint. It also gives you a good idea ... more

Bruce Haight notes: First off, if you didn't see the "grid art" in this puzzle, the picture below will give you a hint. It also gives you a good idea where I got this puzzle idea, since I am a cheddarhead from Wisconsin and these are my favorite crackers.

This project started out as a themed puzzle with corner entries like MERMAID and REELSIN — that puzzle was not reeled in. Then I tried a Thursday version where you had to complete the seven letter corner entries with the word FISH — my favorite was STANDOF(FISH) clued as "Shy". Will was standoffish (my puzzle came up shy) and felt the theme entries were interfering with solid fill. He recommended a mini-themed Friday version and that managed to get accepted. I seeded the upper left with GANGNAM because it had just passed Justin Bieber as the all-time most popular YouTube video. Thankfully, with AMERICA's help, it worked out.

Will Shortz notes: In the first version of this puzzle, which I sent to test-solvers, the clues for 17A and 58A did not reference the three swimming ... more

Will Shortz notes: In the first version of this puzzle, which I sent to test-solvers, the clues for 17A and 58A did not reference the three swimming "fish" symbolized by black squares in the middle of the grid. However, after only one of the four testers noticed the fish, I added bracketed remarks so that solvers could appreciate the extra layer to the mini-theme.

Jeff Chen notes: What a cool visual! Bruce has a real knack for using black squares to create art I haven't seen before. I was really impressed by one ... more

Jeff Chen notes: What a cool visual! Bruce has a real knack for using black squares to create art I haven't seen before. I was really impressed by one of his last ones, and when I saw the three goldfish swimming upstream today, I couldn't believe no one's done it before. Bravo!

I really like mini-themes buried inside a themeless grid. Like with triple-stacks, or ultra-low word count, or other non-standard themeless grids, I wouldn't want to see them every weekend, but it's such a nice treat to get a bonus as you solve, often making for a memorable puzzle. Reminds me of Matt Ginsberg's amusing comments about trying to hide an "Easter Egg" in a puzzle. There's something so exhilarating about discovering a treat you never expected.

For me, SOMETHING'S FISHY hit the bulls-eye. A perfect phrase for this visual, I found it clever and amusing. ON THE WATERFRONT fell flat for me, perhaps because SOMETHING'S FISHY was so perfect. It's tough to make a mini-theme sing — most of the time you only have space for two long entries, so they both have to really sing in order to make it work.

And as with every construction, there will be compromises. In order to get the three goldfish and the two long entries, Bruce had to section his grid up a bit, the SW and NE corners feeling pretty separate. And big corners like that are naturally hard to fill. I enjoyed seeing OIL RICH, A LA MODE and DOORMAT, all quality answers, but there wasn't as much sparkle as I like to see in a themeless. Combined with EIS, NO I, and AT AN, the overall effect wasn't as strong as I would have liked.

All in all, a very neat visual, with a little price to pay as a trade-off. P.S. Although it looks symmetric across the NW/SE diagonal, it's not! Take another look.

JimH notes: Martin Ashwood-Smith took issue with calling this grid asymmetric. He sees it as a new kind of symmetry that superimposes diagonal ... more

JimH notes: Martin Ashwood-Smith took issue with calling this grid asymmetric. He sees it as a new kind of symmetry that superimposes diagonal symmetry on the normal rotational kind. The suggested name for this: Goldfish Symmetry.